Change those hotel reservations

UAB's football schedule for the 2008 season now has a different look. The biggest change comes at the beginning. The Blazers are no longer opening the season on Aug. 30 in Knoxville. That game will now be played on Sept. 13 at Neyland Stadium because ESPN wanted Tennessee and UCLA to open the season at Labor Day at the Rose Bowl.

UAB now gets an early start in Conference USA with an Aug. 30 game against Tulsa at Legion Field. It will be the first time since 2004 that UAB opens the season at Legion Field and only the fourth time in 13 seasons of Division I-A football at the school that the opener is at home.

Those aren't the only two changes in the schedule. UAB's non-conference home game against Alabama State will move from Sept. 13 to Sept. 20. The final change moves the C-USA game vs. Southern Miss at Hattiesburg from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1.

The final change keeps UAB from having back-to-back open dates. The open dates are now Oct. 25 and Nov. 8.